Five years later, McMillon got another opportunity to climb within the company. He took over Mike Duke's role running Walmart International after Duke became CEO of Walmart Inc.

That move signaled that McMillon was a likely heir apparent. So, when 2013 rolled around and it was announced that McMillon would be replacing Duke on February 1, 2014, it didn't come as much of a surprise to observers.

As CEO of Walmart Inc., McMillon has focused on boosting the retailer's digital capabilities and omnichannel approach. Under McMillon, Walmart associates also saw the company's minimum wage rise to $11 an hour in January 2018.

McMillon donated $6,350 to Republican and conservative causes and figures between 1990 and 2016.

He served on US President Donald Trump's now-defunct strategic and policy forum, but has criticized the president on the issue of tariffs and his reaction to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

McMillon and his wife, Shelley, have two sons. He earned over $22 million in 2018, according to Bloomberg.

"Having been here a long time, I think I had the feeling that I knew what responsibility felt like," McMillon told Fortune on his first day as CEO in 2015. "And then you move into the role and you find out there's a whole 'nother level of it."